Germany Police union criticizes German border controls

According to the German Police Union (GdP), border controls have so far done little to limit illegal migration. According to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, the GdP's leadership has said that the number of people and smugglers apprehended has been low.

As a result, there have only been a small number of refoulements at the western border. Since last week, checks have been carried out at all German borders in order to reduce the number of people entering the country without authorization. The checks at the land borders with Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are new.

Checks have already been carried out for some time at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland, and there have already been checks at the border with France due to the Olympic Games. The measure is initially limited to six months.

The chairman of the GdP, Andreas Rosskop, said that checkpoints and main roads have simply been bypassed since the measure was introduced. The police also lack the equipment to work as a modern investigative police force. "The failures in this area in recent years are now falling on our shoulders."

There has also been no discernible deterrent effect of the measures to date. "The forwarding of protection and asylum seekers to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees in Switzerland remains high," says Rosskopf.